National Service Blog

Individuals experiencing long-term homelessness also often suffer from medical fragility caused or aggravated by life on the streets and in shelters. Lacking stable access to housing and preventative health care services, they become “high-utilizers” of costly inpatient and emergency care.

The Corporation for Supportive Housing (CSH) advances high-quality solutions and cost-effective programs to improve the lives of the most vulnerable people in our society by supporting locally-based organizations that provide access to public resources that enable the chronically homeless to connect to homes, health care, and the community. As a Social Innovation Fund (SIF) intermediary, CSH is leading a project that integrates health care and housing for individuals with multiple, chronic health conditions who experience homelessness.

These individuals often fall into the gaps between systems of care. A shelter provider and a hospital, for example, seek to meet different needs of an individual. The shelter may overlook or be unable to help the individual with health problems, making it harder for him to find and keep stable housing. The hospital, in turn, may overlook non-medical factors such as housing instability that could make its treatment plans for a patient less effective.

CSH bridges these gaps by integrating supportive housing – affordable housing and comprehensive services – with special emphasis on health services to improve access and outcomes while lowering costs for public systems such as Medicaid.

Our plan attracted a major federal grant from the Corporation for National and Community Service [and the] Social Innovation Fund and forward-looking investment from our partners. Together, we were able to work on both the population and program levels to leverage the success of pioneers to create a platform for accountability and social innovation.

By CNCS Staff | National Service News Week in Review | From generation to generation, service is a common theme that makes a difference in the lives of Americans. Whether it’s a science fair winner thinking of unique solutions to old challenges, adults stepping up to volunteer as mentors, or seniors whose lives are testaments to the benefits of service, our national service family leads by example.

I am an AmeriCorps VISTA member serving in Montana with the Global Health Equity Foundation on their social media based project titled "Let's Talk." This project allows me to work toward enabling Healthy Futures in a different way. In fact, I'm the only member working on a mental health project in the state.

Brighter Bites is a new program meant to create behavioral changes through education and access to fresh fruits and vegetables. Its founder Lisa Helfman, a mom of two young boys, found that having more fresh produce at home led her kids to make healthier choices. She has built a team to apply that same principle to Houston’s underserved populations.

The idea of combining service and leadership is one that defined the life of Cesar Chavez. He dedicated his life to bringing attention to the poverty of migrant farmworkers and other segments of the population that were marginalized or overlooked. Chavez also showed us that, no matter how humble our beginnings, we can all accomplish great things.

As Secretary of Agriculture, I take USDA’s nickname of the “People’s Department”—first coined by President Abraham Lincoln—to heart. Over the past five years, we have worked hard to build upon our tradition of service to the American people, supporting both the farmers and ranchers who grow our food and giving American families confidence that the food they buy at the grocery store is safe, healthy and affordable.

As an outreach and communications coordinator with Student Veterans of America, Wright connects nearly 1,000 veterans-focused student organizations across the country to grant and funding sources. This effort ultimately helps strengthen these organizations so they can serve more former service members.

I was on active duty in the U.S. Air Force and had just been assigned to Schriever Air Force Base in Colorado Springs, Colorado when the tragic events of Sept 11th unfolded. Rumor was that President Bush would fly onboard Air Force One to Colorado Springs and command from inside the Cheyenne Mountain Complex. Although that did not occur, I felt honored to serve America then and continue to be honored to this day. Today, I proudly serve the citizens of Birmingham, Alabama, as a “Building Communities, Bettering Lives” AmeriCorps member assigned to a nonprofit called Workshops, Inc.

Just two years ago FEMA and the Corporation for National and Community Service’s AmeriCorps NCCC program launched a unique program called FEMA Corps. FEMA Corps provides Americans, age 18-24, with an opportunity to help people recover from disasters. When disaster strikes, FEMA Corps members are on the ground, working hand-in-hand with FEMA to coordinate disaster response.

The national service community has much to be proud of when it comes to protecting our outdoors. Among many actions, we restore public lands and preserve parks across in communities across the country. Yesterday this work was front and center at the White House, where a Champions of Change program celebrated local leaders who are working to get young people to learn, play, serve, and work outdoors.